Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - The central bank of Bangladesh has relaxed its rules waving 10 per cent retention of advance remittances received against exports to facilitate exporters particularly small ones.
The Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, has taken the latest move aiming to boost exporters’ cash flow as well as easing trade settlement, officials said.
The central bank has waived the earlier requirement for exporters to retain 10 per cent of export proceeds out of export payments received in advance from overseas buyers, according to a notification issued on Thursday.
The revised instructions introduce safeguards to ensure genuine transactions while giving exporters quicker access to funds, the officials added.
Under the new guidelines, exporters shall have an irrevocable LC (letter of credit) or contract to execute shipments.
The exporters’ past export performance shall be satisfactory, and they need to demonstrate adequate capacity to execute the export order. In addition, the advance payment shall be interest-free, among others.
In case of non-execution of export, including issuance of EXP Form against advance payment, Authorised Dealer (AD) banks may allow refund of advance payment. In this case, ADs shall utilise funds from the Exporters' Retention Quota (ERQ) account first and the remainder from Taka accounts, the notification added.
The relaxation will help exporters procure raw materials and maintain operations amid global trade challenges, while ensuring compliance through oversight by banks, according to business insiders.
BBN/SSR/AD